How this couple spent $100 and wound up with three homes worth $3.4m

A couple from the Sunshine Coast have hit the property jackpot, winning not one, but three luxury homes in an RSL charity giveaway.

Abigail and Joe Moreland*, in their sixties, have previously never owned property, but now enjoy a $3.4 million portfolio spanning Sydney, Melbourne and Noosa.

How does such a thing happen? Mrs Moreland went in the draw to raise money for her local veteran’s charity, the RSL Art Union.

It’s reported she spent $100 on 20 tickets at $5 apiece, and we’ve no doubt it’s the best $100 she’s ever spent.

The Noosa home. All properties came furnished. Image: realestate.com.au

The homes include a two-bedroom penthouse in Sydney’s Potts Point with multimillion-dollar views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House; a one-bedroom apartment in Port Melbourne; and a three-bedroom home in holiday hot spot Noosa.

View from their new Potts Point apartment on Victoria Street. Image: realestate.com.au

That’s not all – the Morelands also scored luxury furniture (it came with the prize), as well as an additional $135,000 in gold bullion.

If they choose to rent the properties, their return could amass to $153,000 in annual rent, according to RSL Art Union.

The apartment block in Port Melbourne. Image: realestate.com.au

“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Mrs Moreland told realestate.com.au. “Nothing like this has ever happened to us before and it’s changed our life. We didn’t even own a home.”

If you were wondering whether or not the pair were deserving, you can stop right there. The couple had saved $50,000 for a home deposit, but ended up giving it to their daughter, “so she could buy her home,” said Mrs Moreland.

Mrs Moreland kept entering the veteran’s draws because she “just knew I’d win,” telling her husband not to worry “because one day we’d win a house.” Now they have three.

The charity group’s next draw is for a block of five apartments in Gold Coast suburb, Palm Beach, worth $4.1 million. The expected annual rental income from the units is $209,560.